Better late than never, right? June has been so mad I’ve barely had time to shit, but I have had time to eat loads of amazing things in London – and Brighton, which I’d absolutely recommend for a gastronomic seaside jaunt! Top marks go to Mike, who arranged everything for my birthday like the shiny diamond he is. We stayed at a fancy seafront hotel (Brighton Harbour Hotel & Spa – book it, you get bottles of complimentary sherry and gin in the rooms), had a body scrub and racked up many, many hours in the hot tub. In between sauna sessions we did a lot of eating out, so I effectively spent my birthday being massaged and fed delicious morsels, like some sort of bizarrely hairless, bipedal Wagyu heifer.

Our first dinner in Brighton was at Ginger Man, whose set-price menu was positively riddled with genius.

We spent our second night at 64 Degrees, whose doomed Pimlico sister restaurant I once got unacceptably pissed at before it closed down. Pimlico, man. The weird, bland blind spot of Zone 1. It was a good fifteen minutes’ walk from the tube station too, so even the best cuisine in the world wouldn’t have kept it afloat. Anyway, we managed to bag a last-minute counter seat at the original and got to watch our dishes come together in front of us. Like dinner and a show.

My actual birthday was spent at Ormer with Mike and our two housemates, where we managed to spend a cumulative £116 on Iberico pork. Whoops. I’ve raved on and on about Ormer a LOT lately (see here and here) so I won’t sit here and bore your actual tits off, but it is an absolutely perfect restaurant for a birthday. Do not think about getting anything but the rabbit gnocchi to start (and don’t forget to tell them your birthday, so you get a little cake ;))

My follow-up birthday dinner (yes, I am one of those insufferable arseholes who has a week of birthday-themed gluttony – so sue me) was at Smokestak with Maxine and Rich, who we’re going to Tuscany with in six weeks’ time. It’s a grown-up take on American barbecue – my full review is here – and it’s tremendous value.

A restaurant selling only teeny, tiny burgers sounds a bit shit until you realise it’s the baby of Adam Rawson, two-time winner of the Slider Decider. The Bite Me Burger Co is currently in residency basement of a somewhat soulless Chinese near Holborn, but you can get burgers to go in boxes, like doughnuts. BURGERS LIKE DOUGHNUTS PEOPLE.

James 1 and I went to Lima’s fifth birthday a couple of weeks ago which was an absolute treat – it ties with Pachamama for the best ceviche in London, and they do some really creative variations too. It’s also super healthy, which is great news as the fact I will be required to flaunt my near-bare arse on holiday is putting the fear of God into me. Unfortunately I did get a bit too tipsy on Pisco Sours and ended up bawling my eyes out over a not-quite-dead crab that was on ice as part of the display. Embarrassing.

Less healthy – Yauatcha’s patisserie counter has some new summery flavours and they are DIVINE. I’m not usually a huge fan of macarons but Yauatcha’s taste a lot less sickly to me, and they come practically gift-wrapped. (We’ve recycled the pink Yauatcha ribbon they do up the box with by tying it to Mr Squirrel, the unfortunate catnip toy doomed to be eternally assaulted by Nelson, our giant one-eyed cat. Nobody can accuse me of waste.)

And finally, Mike, my sister the vegan and I took my dad to Levantine restaurant Ceru in South Kensington for his birthday – I visited the pop-up years ago and it’s still as good as it ever was, and outstandingly good value. A meal for four with alcohol cost about £25/head. The slow-roast lamb shoulder in particular is a dream.

Author: Emily Gibson

Emily is an urban adventurer, blogger and glutton foodie on an epic quest to uncover the best things to eat, drink and do in London. She lives in East London and loves ceviche, cycling and magic shows. Lifelong nemeses include beetroot, beards and wine served in tumblers.